---
title: "1 Cortex Genetic Quotes By Robert M. Sapolsky"
description: "1 Cortex Genetic quotes by Robert M. Sapolsky. Plus more from Robert M. Sapolsky and more Cortex Genetic sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg"
---

> [“probably the most important fact about genetics and culture is the delayed maturation of the frontal cortex—the genetic programming for the young frontal cortex to be freer from genes than other brain regions, to be sculpted instead by environment, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/probably-the-most-important-fact-about-genetics-and-culture-is-the/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg)

## More by Robert M. Sapolsky

> [“Secure-attachment 7Rs show more generosity than average. Thus 7R has something to do with generosity—but its effect is entirely context dependent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/secure-attachment-7rs-show-more-generosity-than-average-thus-7r-has/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [But if you get chronically, psychosocially stressed, you're going to compromise your health. So, essentially, we've evolved to be smart enough to make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/but-if-you-get-chronically-psychosocially-stressed-you-re-going-to/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Finally, for the same criminal conviction, the more stereotypically Af-rican a black individual’s facial features, the longer the sentence.15 In contrast, juries view black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/finally-for-the-same-criminal-conviction-the-more-stereotypically-af/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“So testosterone does subtle things to behavior. Nonetheless, this doesn’t tell us much because everything can be interpreted every which way. Testosterone increases anxiety—you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/so-testosterone-does-subtle-things-to-behavior-nonetheless-this-doesn/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“pain makes aggressive people more aggressive, while doing the opposite to unaggressive individuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/pain-makes-aggressive-people-more-aggressive-while-doing-the-opposite/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Thus, for our purposes, genes aren’t about inevitability. Instead they’re about context-dependent tendencies, propensities, potentials, and vulnerabilities. All embedded in the fabric of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/thus-for-our-purposes-genes-aren-t-about-inevitability-instead-they/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“If we accept that there will always be sides, it’s a nontrivial to-do list item to always be on the side of angels. Distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/if-we-accept-that-there-will-always-be-sides-it-s-a-nontrivial-to-do/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“In other words, the more genomically complex the organism, the larger the percentage of the genome devoted to gene regulation by the environment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/in-other-words-the-more-genomically-complex-the-organism-the-larger/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“The subject of one experiment is a rat that receives mild electric shocks (roughly equivalent to the static shock you might get from scuffing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/the-subject-of-one-experiment-is-a-rat-that-receives-mild-electric/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“No brain region is an island, and the formation of circuits connecting far-flung brain regions is crucial—how else can the frontal cortex use its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/no-brain-region-is-an-island-and-the-formation-of-circuits-connecting/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“We process emotionally salient information more rapidly and automatically, but with less accuracy. Frontal function—working memory, impulse control, executive decision making, risk assessment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/we-process-emotionally-salient-information-more-rapidly-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“Most broadly, the PFC chooses between conflicting options—Coke or Pepsi; blurting out what you really think or restraining yourself; pulling the trigger or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/most-broadly-the-pfc-chooses-between-conflicting-options-coke-or/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“One stretch of the gene is repeated a variable number of times, and the version with seven repeats (the “7R” form) produces a receptor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/one-stretch-of-the-gene-is-repeated-a-variable-number-of-times-and/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [“some people always get more than their share of equality than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/some-people-always-get-more-than-their-share-of-equality-than-others/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

> [It's probably even the case that if you stoked up some Buddhist monks with tons of testosterone, they'd become wildly competitive as to who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-probably-even-the-case-that-if-you-stoked-up-some-buddhist-monks/)

[Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Cortex Genetic Quotes By Robert M. Sapolsky",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“probably the most important fact about genetics and culture is the delayed maturation of the frontal cortex—the genetic programming for the young frontal cortex to be freer from genes than other brain regions, to be sculpted instead by environment, to sop up cultural norms. To hark back to a theme from the first pages of this book, it doesn’t take a particularly fancy brain to learn how to motorically, say, throw a punch. But it takes a fancy, environmentally malleable frontal cortex to learn culture-specific rules about when it’s okay to throw punches.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/probably-the-most-important-fact-about-genetics-and-culture-is-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“probably the most important fact about genetics and culture is the delayed maturation of the frontal…” — Robert M. Sapolsky",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/",
            "name": "Cortex Genetic Quotes by Robert M. Sapolsky",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/035/robert-m-sapolsky-1166_biology_probably-the-most-important-fact-about-g_463386.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Cortex Genetic quotes by Robert M. Sapolsky. Plus more from Robert M. Sapolsky and more Cortex Genetic sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Cortex Genetic",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Robert M. Sapolsky",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cortex-genetic/robert-m-sapolsky/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```